This invention relates to juicers and more particularly to a juicer having an improved construction to decrease vibration by increasing the balance of the device and to yield a greater quantity of juice from a given product input quantity.
In the past, it has been known to provide a juicer having a rotating cutting disk by which products such as vegetables or fruits are comminuted. During such comminution, the juice of the product is liberated and the solid portions of the product are reduced to a pulp. Typically, a basket or foraminous container is provided outwardly of the rotating cutting disk which, by the action of centrifugal force acting on the juice and pulp, receives the juice and pulp from the cutting disk. The pulp is retained in the basket as the juice is passed outwardly for collection.
The cutting disk generally has a plurality of upstanding blades which effect the comminution of the product. It has been found that if one of the blades becomes damaged, then a lesser quantity of pulp will be thrown outwardly from that radial portion of the cutting disk. In such a condition, the distribution of the pulp in the basket is not uniform, so that the rotation of the basket is attended with a great deal of vibration, noise, and perhaps even danger to the operator of the device.
There have been past attempts to remedy this problem, such as the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,606 to Moline and U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,009 to Drachenberg. In the Moline device, the basket is positively rotated, with the cutter disk frictionally engaging the basket. Thus, the resistance imposed on the cutting disk by the introduced product causes it to slow down relative to the basket, resulting in a relative angular velocity between the cutting disk and the basket. In the Drachenberg device, the cutting blade is positively driven and a plate underlying the basket has pawl elements which drive the basket for rotation. When a product is presented to the cutting blade for comminution, the drag imposed on the cutting disk causes it to slow down, however, the basket maintains its original rotational speed and tends to overrun the cutting blade. Thus in both the Moline and Drachenberg devices the differential rotational speed is achieved only when a product is actually being presented to the cutting blade and in both cases, the basket has a higher rotational speed than the cutting blade.
It will be apparent that some bits of the pulp will temporarily adhere to a blade even when a product is not being forced against it. In both the Moline and Drachenberg cases, if a product is not being presented, but the temporarily adhered pulp releases itself under the centrifugal force, then it will radiate out to the basket. Over a period of time, an imbalance can still develop, resulting in unnecessary noise and vibration.
It has been known in the past to provide fins on the bottom of the rotating plate supporting the basket. The fins, in combination with holes in the housing for the motor have tended to cause an air flow through that housing to cool the motor. It is believed, however, that such use of the fins has been strictly limited to juicers in which the basket supporting the plate is mounted for rotation at the same speed as the cutter disk.
Thus, it can be seen that there is a need in the art for a juicer in which the basket is constantly driven at a different speed than the cutter blade so that even temporarily adhering pulp will be distributed evenly around the basket when it is eventually released from the cutter blades. Furthermore, there is need for a simple construction of a juicer which provides long life by generating air currents through the motor and yet advantageously, putting such air current to use by controlling the rate of rotation of the basket with respect to the cutter blade.